On the Cover

May-June 1998 Volume 86, Number 3

Counting a population can be a deceptively difficult task. In fact, even
the first director of the U.S. Census, Thomas Jefferson, recognized
that some persons were likely missed in the 1790 enumeration. Two
centuries later, more than 4 million people went uncounted, and the net
undercount was particularly high among minorities—despite promotions in
numerous languages, such as a poster in Spanish and English that was
adapted to form this issue's cover. ...